In recent years, the development of a vehicle that moves with a passenger riding thereon has been in progress (Patent literatures 1 and 2). For example, in Patent literatures 1 to 3, a force sensor (pressure sensor) is provided on a riding surface (seat surface) on which a passenger rides. Then, the wheels are driven based on the output from the force sensor. That is, the force sensor serves as operation means for performing an inputting operation.
In the vehicle disclosed in Patent literature 1, the vehicle moves by shifting the body weight toward the direction the passenger wants to move. For example, when the passenger wants to move forward, the passenger inclines his/her upper body forward. That is, the passenger takes a forward-inclined posture. Then, by taking the forward-inclined posture, the force exerted on the passenger seat is changed. Then, the force sensor detects this force. The spherical tire is driven based on the detection result of the force sensor. As shown in FIG. 14 of Patent literature 1, inverted pendulum control is performed while the passenger is sitting on the passenger seat. Patent literature 2 discloses a wheelchair-type vehicle. This vehicle is equipped with a chair and a footrest.
Further, Patent literature 3 discloses a vehicle that actively detects the motion of the user and autonomously moves according to the detected motion. For example, it calculates the center of gravity of the user by using a plurality of pressure sensors. The wheelchair-shaped vehicle moves according to the detected position of the center of gravity (FIG. 2).
Further, Patent literature 4 discloses an interface apparatus that is used to operate a bipedal-walking-type vehicle. This interface apparatus has a chair-like shape. Further, a plurality of force sensors is provided on the backrest surface and the seat surface. The interface apparatus detects the rotation of the passenger′s pelvis by using four force sensors to estimate the walking intention. Then, it drives both legs according to the walking intention estimated by the force sensors. Further, this interface apparatus is equipped with a footrest.